Currently...

Inspired...

Since today is my first ever Project Life Saturday, I thought it would be good to share an overview of my particular approach. Believe me when I say, I had to do a lot of experimenting before I found what works for me.

Inspired by all the amazing Project Life albums people were sharing online, I bought a 12x12 ring binder, a variety of pocket page protectors, and I set out to document my daily life week by week. Sadly, I'd often start off strong and eventually peter out, usually feeling a little guilty and stressed out about the whole affair.

This is what I learned from my various failed attempts:

12x12 Album - This size is way too big for me. I work in a small space and when I would have the binder open to work on my layouts it was so overwhelming. Not only that, it took a lot of planning for me to fill all the different pockets while still maintaining a nice visual balance.

Page Protectors - I loved the idea of including an assortment of pocket pp in my album. After a while though, I noticed how complicated it was to plan out my layouts if my page configurations were always changing.

Weekly Time Format - In the end, this was way too intense for me. I always felt a little frazzled and as I fell further and further behind, it became just another thing to be stressed out about.

Well, I'm happy to say, I finally found my groove. Halfway into 2014, I'm still loving my Project Life album and I know it's because of all the changes I made. So what's different?

For starters, I switched to a 6x8 album. This was a game changer. Now, I actually have room on my desk for my supplies and I also really like working on my album in small manageable chunks. I certainly don't have to do as much preplanning and it's been so so nice.

Variety is the spice of life and I still like to switch up my page protectors every once in while, but for the most part I keep things consistent now. This helps me maintain my rhythm and I find myself finishing layouts much more quickly. Currently, I really love how full page photos look, so you'll see them a lot in my album.

Lastly, I decided to ditch the weekly time format. This really took the pressure off. Instead, I focus more on the stories I want to tell and I LOOOVE it.

My advice to people struggling is to remember that everyone is different and there is no one right way to approach your album. If you find yourself getting stressed out, it's important to change things up until you find a system that works for you.